Universal terminal



May 3, 1960 E. PURPURA ET AL 2,935,727

UNIVERSAL TERMINAL Filed Aug. 17, 1955 ERNEST PURPURA 8 AN 7' HUM J. RUSCITO INVEN T0115 M M THE/R A7 RNEVS 2,935,127 UNIVERSAL TERMINAL Application August 17, 1955, Serial No. 529,025 1 Claim. (Cl. 339-278) The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to such connectors wherein one portion forms a part or terminal of an electrical circuit component and the other portion can be used to establish a connection to this component.

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of novel connectors of the above type which are simple to make and also have versatility. The above as well as additional objects of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some of its exemplifications, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an electrical capacitor having terminal connectors in accordance with the present invention, one of the connectors being shown completely disconnected and the other partially connected;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view in greater detail of the part 1y connected connector structure of Fig. 1 looking at it from the rear, to more clearly illustrate the construction;

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of a double pronged or legged terminal connector showing one leg partially engaged by a mating connector, as in Fig. 2, and the other leg engaged by a bare lead-in wire.

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional view of the Fig. '3 connector structure shown in fully connected position.

According to the present invention, there is provided :a terminal connector having a component attachment base and a tinned outwardly projecting prong, a perforation through a portion of the prong adjacent the base, 13. pair of opposed side notches in edge portions of the prong removed from the'base, shallow locking depressions on corresponding portions of each prong facein the zone between the opposed notches, the outer edge of the prong being tapered to provide an entering wedge.

The prong of this connector is suitable for engagement .by a mating connector having a generally flat portion slightly wider than the prong with curled-over side edges to engage the sides of the prong and hold one of .the prong faces against the generally fiat portion, the

tedStates, Patent 5 2,935,727 Patented May 3, .1960.

. site ends connected to two diiferent locations with only itor 10 having connector terminals 20, projecting out from one face of-the capacitor in closely adjacent locations. has a metal case, the connector-containing surface of which has openings in which are molded mounting insulators 12, 14 of a plastic composition such as phenolformaldehyde, filled with up to about 50% clay. The

insulators 12, 14 have passageways through which a metallic rivet or other fastening means extends. The connectors 20, 30 can be held in place by these fastening means.

For this type of securing, the connectors as shown in Fig. 2 are provided with an attachment base 22 having a hole 24 through which the attachment means, such" as a rivet shank, projects. The hole 24 is made small enough so that the head of the rivet engages the upper face of the base 22 and clamps it in position. The

lower end of the rivet, that is the one extending internectors are attached. Where the insulators are plastic,

- face.

wurled-over edges being spaced from the generally flat I ,portion a distance less than the prong thickness so as to securely hold the prong, the generally flat portion being pnovided with a resiliently held detent projecting in the direction of the curled-over edges for interengage- Jnent with one of the locking depressions.

.A feature of the present invention is that instead of Ihaving the prong engaged by the mating connector, it .can be used as a soldering post for conventionally soltdered joints. For such use an electrical lead such as .a wire can be threaded through the perforation in the prong so that it can be readily anchored before solder- .ing. A preferred solder connection can be obtained by threading the lead-in wire through the hole in the terminal connector and then wrapping the lead around the .terminal between the opposed notches, as shown in Fig. ;3-.' Alternatively, the lead can be wrapped around the prong and drawn tightly between the opposed notches -so that it can be anchored in this way before soldering. .This last type of engagement is most suitable for those (connections in which an elongated conductor has opponally into the case, can be headed over against the in-,

ner face of its insulator and can also be engaged'with a capacitor terminal as by means of a terminal connector looped around the inner end of the rivet before it is headed over, or welded to it afterwards. If it is desired, to make sure that the terminal does not move or rotate with respect to the attachment means, small teeth 26 can be struck downwardly from the base 22' so'that they project and bite into the insulators when the con as above indicated, the teeth 26 need not project .down wardly any more than of an inch.

The connector section of connectors 20, 30 have an upstanding prong 28, preferably tinned all over its sur The entire connector can be made sufiiciently rigid, so that it will maintain its shape. Ordinary cold rolled steel (SAE 1010 steel) or brass, having a. thickness'of about 20 to 30 mils, is all that is needed.

Adjacent the base 22, the prong 28 has a perforation 32. This need only be large enough to readily admit the connecting wires. A width of inch, or even somewhat less, is ample for this purpose. Above perforation 32 the opposite side edges of prong 28 are notched, as indicated at 3 4, 36. For more convenient connection, particularly .where large sized 'wires are to be used, the notches can be as deep as 30 mils or even more, and can have widths of A6 ,of an inch, for example. j Between the notches both faces of .the prong are provided with shallow depressions or dimples 38. Although the notches are preferably rectangularly shaped, the depressions can merely be rounded indentations that only penetrate into the prong surface to a depth of about 2 to 5 mils. At its outermost edge, the prong is shown as having a tapered construction to provide a wedge '40. The connector element that mates with the prong is shown at 50. The connector 50 has a generally flat portion 52 somewhat wider than the prong, with the opposite side edges curled over as indicated at 54, 56. The edge faces 58 of the curled-over edges are spaced from the flat portion by a distance less than the thickness of the prong. t

A resiliently held detent 64 is provided on the inner face .of the connector 50 so that it projects toward and The particular capacitor that is here illustrated engages the surface of the prong received by this connector. The projection of the detent need not be any more than the depth of depressions 38. Greater resiliency can be provided for the detent as by slotting the flat portion 52 from which the detent can be struck out. Such slots are shown at 66, 68 above and below 'the detent.

'At another portion of the connector 50, means is provided for the anchorage of a lead such as an insulated conductor 70. A first arm 72 can be arranged to curve out from the generally flat portion 52 at the free edge where it is not engaged by the prong. This arm is preferably curved around so that it provides a space large enough to admit the entire thickness of conductor 70 including that of its insulated sheathing. A second arm 74 can be curved around in a corresponding manner, but providing somewhat less space so that it receives only the electrically conductive portion of the conductor, that is the insulation-free length of it.

To fasten the connectors 50, 20 together, the curledover side edges 54, 56 are placed over the wedge-shaped outer end 40 and then connector 50 is forcefully slid over the prong. The wedge 40 forces the edge faces 58 away from the pressed section 52 so that the connector can be moved into the engagement position shown in Fig. 4. To improve the wedging action, the outer ends of edges 58 can be tapered, as indicated at 60.

The construction can be such that as much as one pound or more of force is needed to wedge the prong in place in connector 50. When it is fully seated, the detent 64 is received by the depression 38 and securely locks the connectors together. Only a 2 to 4 mil projection of detent 64 will generally be sufficient to increase by several pounds the force required to pull the connectors apart, even if the connector 50 is made of half hard brass.

After the connections are established to the capacitor 10, it is desirable to protect the connections as by means of a cap 82. The cap can conveniently be made of rubber, flexible plastic, or some other similar material provided with an open mouth, shaped to frictionally engage the insulators 12, 14. Better engagement can be provided by having at least a shallow internal flange or lip on the inner edge of the mouth. A tab 88, by means of which it can be manually pulled down into position, also helps with its use, the mouth being then reenforced as by providing it with a thickened edge 90. It is preferred that the cap 82 be mounted sufficiently far down on the insulators 12, 14 so as to engage the surface of the case, thereby sealing the mouth of the cap completely. This scaling is particularly desirable in places such as air-conditioning units where large amounts of dust-laden air may be swept by the capacitor and much of the dust would have a tendency to stick and build up. Alterna tively, insulators 12, 14 can be joined together to pro vide a side edge shaped to conform to and be sealed against the mouth of cap 82 even though the cap is not seated against the casing.

One or more passageways 92 are also provided in the cap 82 for the penetration of the conductors. This passageway or passageways can also be sealed, if desired, as by having them somewhat smaller than the space occupied by the conductors. The conductors will in this way expand the passageway and fit tightly against its edges. This will generally furnish adequate sealing. A separate passageway can be used for each conductor or where used for two conductors it can be shaped to have its edges conform to the external surfaces of the conductors, if desired.

The connectors 20, 30 of the present invention can be provided with either a single prong, as in the construction of Fig. 2, or with two prongs, as in the construction of Figs. 3 and 4. Even more prongs can be provided on a single connector although this usually is not necessary. As shown in Fig. 3, the base 22 can be made somewhat wider than the prongs as by having an extension 94 on opposite sides. This will increase the strength of the base and help make certain that it will adequately resist the forces applied to the prong, particularly when more than one prong is used and all the prtl lngs have their connectors disconnected by a single pu For use with the connector 50, the prongs should be kept from deformation. Sufiicient rigidity is usually provided with the small prong thickness given above by having the perforation 32 spaced as much as possible from the notches 34, 36. The strength of the prong is further improved by having the locking established by a shallow depression 38 rather than another perforation. Such depression can be placed alongside the notches without detracting significantly from the strength. If desired these depressions can be moved over closer to the wedge 40, or the depressions can be completely eliminated and the perforation 32' used as a locking depression with a correspondingly located detent. However, it may be advisable to keep the detent from frictional engagement with as much as possible of the height of the prong while the connectors are being connected together, particularly where the detent is of relatively soft metal such as brass. It is accordingly preferred where the perforation 32 is used as the locking depression, to move the perforation up to near the wedge 40 and if desired to also move the notches 34, 36 down towards the base.

A feature of the present invention is that the very simple connector construction provides not only a considerable resistance to the unfastening of the connectors, but the one-sided attachment of the conductor '70, as shown in Fig. 2 for example, makes it almost impossible to inadvertently have the connectors pulled apart. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that any pull on conductor 70 will cause the connector 50 to cock over and tilt at an angle with respect to the prongs. This causes the side edges of the prong to directly engage the curled-over margins 54, 56 and further increase the forces required to disconnect the connectors.

The insulators can be made of ceramic or other materials. For substances like ceramic, the struck-down teeth are not too suitable as shift-preventing means and it is preferable to have a socket molded on the basereceiving portion of the insulator so as to snugly fit the base and in this way keep it from shifting.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

A universal terminal for an electrical component, said terminal comprising a base, perforate means in said base for electrical connection to said component, at least one tinned outwardly projecting prong having one end attached to said base substantially normal thereto, a pair of opposed notches spaced from the end of said prong remote from said one end, a locking depression provided in said prong substantially between said opposed notches, a perforation through said prong remote from said opposed notches and adjacent said one end, said perforation and said notches so related that a circuit wire is wedged to said prong by being inserted in said perforation and wrapped around said notches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,509,701 Smith May 30, 1950 2,513,365 Rogoff July 4, 1950 2,701,350 Soreng Feb. 1, 1955 2,705,788 Soreng Apr. 5, 1955 2,736,875 Protz Feb. 28, 1956 

